Aim To List Adani Airport In 2-3 Years, Says Jeet Adani: Report

Jeet Adani, Director of Adani Airport Holdings Ltd., revealed that the company aims to go public within the next 2-3 years. AAHL, which operates seven major airports across India and is building the Navi Mumbai airport, is expecting investments of around Rs 1 trillion over the next few years.

"Once we are at that level of about $1 billion Ebitda, we will be comfortable to list this business and demonstrate value growth... It will be two to three years from now," he said in an interview with Business Standard.

In the interview, Adani shared his vision for the company and outlined the key triggers for the potential listing. He stated that the commercialisation and stabilisation of the first phase of the Navi Mumbai airport, which is expected in the next year, would be a key milestone. Additionally, the leasing of space in the city-side development around the airports, starting around 2028-2029, would further strengthen the business model.

Another important factor is the growth in non-aero revenue, which has tripled since AAHL began its airport business, he said. Jeet expects continuous growth in non-aero revenue over the next two years, which would become a significant contributor to AAHL’s overall revenue.

Once these triggers are met, Jeet is confident that AAHL’s Ebitda—currently at $300 million—will rise to $1-1.5 billion, making it the right time for the company to list. He estimates that the listing could take place in 2-3 years, once AAHL reaches its target financial metrics.

Adani believes the consolidation among airlines in India brings both positive and negative implications for airports. On the positive side, having strong carriers like Air India, now backed by the Tata Group, ensures that India has a robust presence in both short-haul and long-haul routes. This is crucial, as for years, India has been losing a significant share of international traffic to global hubs like Singapore, Doha, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi. With Air India now positioned to reclaim that lost capacity, the outlook for Indian airports is improving.

Both Air India and IndiGo are expected to remain dominant players in the domestic market for the long term. However, as India’s aviation sector continues to grow, similar to the scale seen in China, it’s clear that more than two major airlines will be needed to serve the expanding market. Currently, Air India and IndiGo control over 90% of the domestic passenger market.

From an airport’s perspective it is positive that "we would now have a large throughput of Indian passengers using Indian hubs to travel to international destinations. It will also have a positive impact on non-aero revenue of airports. The negative from the airport perspective is that we could start seeing a concentration risk," Business Standard quoted Adani as saying.